After going 4-3 on their homestand, the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a road trip by facing the Miami Marlins in the opener of a three-game series at loanDepot park.
The Dodgers enter play at 84-52, which is good for the second-best record in the National League behind the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins, at 70-67, have won four games in a row and are only a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds for the third Wild Card spot.
Max Muncy is out of the Dodgers lineup as he continues to recover from a minor left shoulder injury. Muncy was removed in the fifth inning of the series finale against the Atlanta Braves.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated the team does not expect to put Muncy on the 10-day injured list.
Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw makes his 21st start of the season and fifth since being activated off the 15-day IL last month. The left-hander allowed one run on three hits and collected five strikeouts across five innings in his most recent outing against the Diamondbacks.
In doing so, Kershaw earned the 209th win of his career, tying him with Don Drysdale for second place in Dodgers franchise history. Don Sutton is the Dodgers’ all-time wins leader with 233.
“It just means I’ve been here for a long time and been part of some really great teams. It’s cool,” Kershaw said of tying Drysdale on the Dodgers’ wins list.
Kershaw has thrown five innings in three of his four starts since coming off the IL. The only exception was a rain-shortened outing against the Cleveland Guardians in which he logged only two frames.
Kershaw is 12-4 with a 2.48 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.02 WHIP and 9.6 strikeouts per nine in 112.1 innings pitched this season. He owns a 7-5 record, 2.68 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 11.2 strikeouts per nine in 14 career starts against the Marlins.
Miami counters with Jesús Luzardo, who carries a scoreless streak of 13.2 innings into his start against the Dodgers. He has given up just three hits while collecting 15 strikeouts over his last two outings.
Luzardo fell to 9-8 after a tough-luck loss to the Tampa Bay Rays but lowered his ERA to 3.62 in 27 starts this season. The 25-year-old has posted a 3.68 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in three career appearances (two starts) against the Dodgers.
Miguel rojas is in the Dodgers lineup for his first game back at loanDepot Park since the offseason trade. Rojas said he was looking forward to returning to Miami and expected to have plenty of family and friends in attendance.
Dodgers lineup
RF: Mookie Betts
1B: Freddie Freeman
DH: Will Smith
2B: Amed Rosario
3B: Kiké Hernández
LF: Chris Taylor
CF: James Outman
SS: Miguel Rojas
C: Austin Barnes
Marlins lineup
2B: Luis Arraez
DH: Jorge Soler
1B: Josh Bell
RF: Jesús Sánchez
3B: Jake Burger
LF: Bryan De La Cruz
CF: Jazz Chisholm
SS: Garrett Hampson
C: Nick Fortes
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